It’s never too early to plan ahead

[caption width="250" caption=" Supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals gather outside the Ohio Statehouse to push for a ban on exotic animal ownership on Wednesday, in Columbus. The gathering was spurred by the shooting by authorities of 48 animals released by a farm owner last week before he committed suicide. (Associated Press | Kantele Franko) "][/caption]

ANN SANNER

Associated Press

COLUMBUS — New ownership of lions, tigers and other dangerous animals likely would be banned in the state under proposed rules that would allow existing owners to keep them but require them to face new permit rules, according to members of a committee studying exotic animals.

The group has a Nov. 30 deadline to make recommendations for updating Ohio’s laws. It’s held expedited meetings since last month, when police were forced to kill 48 wild animals — including endangered Bengal tigers — after their owner freed them from his Zanesville farm and then committed suicide.

Ohio has some of the nation’s weakest restrictions on exotic pets, and efforts to strengthen the regulations have taken on new urgency since farm owner Terry Thompson opened the cages at let the animals out.

Gov. John Kasich on Monday urged the group in a conference call to move swiftly on a plan that includes humane conditions for the animals, protects the public and ensures that an incident like that in Zanesville could never happen again.

The panel’s recommendations are only suggestions to state officials. Its ideas would have to be drafted into legislation, heard before committees and passed by the state legislature before becoming law.

The group likely will recommend the state bar the sale, trade and purchase of exotic animals, Debbie Leahy, a captive wildlife regulatory specialist for the Humane Society of the United States, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Should the recommendations become law, it would be illegal for Ohio residents to own the restricted animals if they didn’t already have them.

Details of the committee’s consensus on the new ownership ban were first reported by The Columbus Dispatch.

Current owners would face restrictions on breeding, other members said. The owners would be required to post signs alerting people there are dangerous animals on their properties. They would have to tag their animals with microchips, brands or tattoos that would allow officials or others to identify them.

The group’s recommendations likely will let owners who have venomous snakes, big cats and certain monkeys keep them for life, but they will have to get three-year permits from the state, said Polly Britton, a lobbyist for the Ohio Association of Animal Owners.

To get a permit, the current owners would have to meet new standards for how the animals are caged and cared for, said Britton, who has been a part of the committee meetings since June.

Not all the stakeholders agree over the permitting rules or the new ownership ban, Britton told the AP.

Britton said the association was disappointed the working group didn’t offer an exemption on state permits for those who are already federally licensed.

She also fears the proposed rules would force certain animal parks to shut down and put small business owners out of jobs.